1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conferencing system which includes a terminal, a server, and an image display device connected via a prescribed communication channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conferencing systems in which multiple PCs are hooked up to a projector have been developed in recent years. Such a conferencing system enables display screens of the multiple computers to be projected simultaneously through a split-screen display; this is useful in situations such as conferences or seminars where it is desired to carry out a discussion while visually comparing data stored on several different computers. Known technologies relating to such conferencing systems includes that disclosed in JP-A-2004-54134 for example.
The above Patent Cited Reference discloses a technology whereby screen capture images from a number of terminals connected on a network are combined by a projector and projected as a single split-screen display.
However, conferencing systems employing this kind of the projector require the use of a special projector, so if a user who already owns a conventional projector wishes to participate in such a conferencing system, this will require the purchase of a new special projector, at considerable expense to the user. Moreover, in cases where a user who is operating the projector wishes to modify the currently projected split-screen display, for example, in order to toggle one of the terminal screens shown in the split-screen display to the screen of another terminal which is not currently displayed, there can be considerable wait time until the projector creates and projects the new combined image. Additionally, in instances where a user who is operating the projector wishes to himself present an image for projection by the projector, it will be necessary to operate two devices, namely the projector plus a terminal, thus imposing a considerable operational burden on the user. These problems are not limited to conferencing systems that employ projectors, and are common generally to conferencing systems in which on-screen displays of terminals are shown on display devices of various kinds.
With the foregoing in view, it is one object of the present invention to provide a conferencing system that, utilizing existing hardware resources, is able to display in a single split-screen display images that are handled by terminals connected by a prescribed communication channel. It is another object to provide a conferencing system able to switch smoothly between on-screen displays. It is a further object to reduce the burden on the operator entailed by on-screen display in a conferencing system that employs a prescribed communication channel.